Clarke insists quitting Scotland was always his plan

Steve Clarke says he always intended to step away if Scotland failed to reach the knockout stage at the World Cup, after the team’s elimination in a group featuring Brazil, Morocco and Haiti ended his seven-year reign. With Clarke now departing, the SFA says i

Steve Clarke didn’t wait for the last whistle to make up his mind — he told Scotland’s football hierarchy on Saturday that he would be ending his seven-year reign as soon as the World Cup ended for his team in the group stage.

The decision came after Scotland were confirmed as unable to get out of a section containing Brazil, Morocco and Haiti. Clarke says he had the ending in his head all along. even though he only took on the final stretch of the job with a new four-year contract a month earlier that would have run through Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup.

Speaking in an interview the SFA released on YouTube. the 62-year-old Ayrshireman explained that signing that contract was about stability for the players — not a promise to stay regardless of results. “What I wanted to make sure was that when I felt it was time to step away. it was time to step away. ” Clarke said.

He added that he had already built the outcome into his own decision-making. “I always had in my head that. if we didn’t come out of the group… then it was probably the right time to step away. Obviously if we’d managed to get that extra point and got out of the group then I’d probably have stayed on and tried to do another tournament.”.

Clarke was asked if walking away had been easy. “In some respects it was easy because I already had in my head what I wanted to achieve as a head coach. ” he said. He described “ticking all the boxes” with the milestones he set out to reach: taking Scotland to a major tournament with the Euros in 2021. then the second Euros in Germany. and finally. his “lifelong ambition” of doing a World Cup with his country.

For Clarke, there was pride in the journey even with the harsh finish. Scotland’s last group game ended in a 3-0 defeat to Brazil in Miami, but the squad had returned to their base in Charlotte still believing qualification could come through if other results broke their way.

Those hopes were cut away when Croatia’s win over Ghana on Saturday confirmed elimination. Clarke then called a team meeting for 7.15pm, where he delivered the news that he would be stepping away. “It’s obviously an emotional moment when you tell your players that you’re stepping away after such a journey together. ” he said. He noted that seven or eight of his players had been with him “from the start” and that he made sure the team heard first.

Just before he walked into the meeting, Clarke says he told his captain, Andy Robertson, because he knew the skipper would want to respond. Robertson later packed his bags after Scotland’s World Cup exit was confirmed.

Despite the backlash surrounding Scotland’s group-stage performance, Clarke insists the experience itself was “brilliant”. He singled out the Haiti match, when Scotland played in front of fans who had traveled in large numbers. “Coming out for the Haiti game with the Scotland fans there in their thousands and my family in the stands was just the best moment. ” Clarke said.

He described the next two opponents — Morocco and Brazil — as sides capable of going “really deep” in the tournament. and said Scotland competed. “We competed, both games were competitive,” he said. Clarke acknowledged that Scotland didn’t find the quality in the final third. but also pointed to the larger thread of his tenure: chasing that edge in games for seven years.

Looking back. Clarke says he is “100 per cent proud” and believes he achieved a key aim: changing the mentality around the group and giving Scotland belief they can compete at the highest level. He suggested the squad’s matches will remain part of Scottish football conversations for years. “We’ll become part of Scottish folklore as we move forward. ” Clarke predicted. adding that people will still be talking about “some of these matches. some of these occasions right into the next century.”.

Clarke rejected the idea that the “core group’s finished”, arguing they still have a path toward Euro 2028. “Everybody keeps saying this core group’s finished. They’re not finished yet, because they can all make it for Euro 2028,” he said.

For the contract, it is understood Clarke waived any claim to compensation from the four-year deal.

Back in Scotland, the SFA says its search for Clarke’s successor has already begun. SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell told the public that nothing is off the table as the next appointment is considered. Speaking before the charter returned to Scotland. Maxwell said the federation would “cast the net far and wide” and focus on the right coach rather than where they come from.

Maxwell said: “Football’s a very. very small world.” He added that he had already woken up to messages from people interested in the job. and that the succession planning starts now. “Nothing’s off the table. We need to cast the net as far and wide as we can. It’s about getting the right coach, it’s not about necessarily where they come from. There’s a lot of good managers out there and it’s up to us to make sure that we pick the right one.”.

Names already linked with the role include Ange Postecoglou, David Moyes and Alex Neil.

Scotland’s next games are scheduled for the Nations League in the autumn against North Macedonia, Slovenia and Switzerland.

Steve Clarke Scotland World Cup Brazil Morocco Haiti Andy Robertson SFA Ian Maxwell succession Nations League Euro 2028 2030 World Cup